Chute Street Diamond Creek

Location:

Diamond Creek

Type:

Road

Status:

Complete

We’ve made changes to Chute Street in Diamond Creek, to improve pedestrian safety.

Project update - January 2018

In late 2016, we asked the community via our online survey whether the speed limit along Chute Street should change to help improve safety for pedestrians, shoppers and local residents. We asked for feedback on the following options:

The community were also given the opportunity to raise any other safety concerns they had.

Based on the feedback we received, we’ve decided to keep the existing 60km/h speed limit and have explored other ways to improve pedestrian safety along Chute Street.

After investigating alternative options, we’ve now:

installed flashing advance warning signs on both approaches to the existing pedestrian crossing on Chute Street

linked the new warning signs to the pedestrian crossing signals, meaning the flashing lights are triggered when a pedestrian presses the button at the crossing

moved the existing speed limit signs to increase the visibility of pedestrians at the crossing

refreshed the existing warning signs on the Chute Street bend

Community involvement

The survey was open for two weeks and attracted 1,123 responses.

Over half of respondents (59%) said they’d prefer to keep the current 60km/h speed limit, with many saying a reduction in speed would make congestion worse. Of the people who wanted the speed limit reduced, many people stated their concerns for pedestrians as the main reason.

The survey also gave people the chance to raise any other safety concerns and suggest alternative safety treatments. Generally, those who recommended a different road safety treatment saw this as a compromise and a far better alternative than reducing the speed limit.

Some of the road safety treatment suggestions we received included:

install advance warning lights

clear plants in the median to improve visibility

move the pedestrian crossing to another location on Chute Street

remove the tree root on Chute Street

We investigated the issue raised with the tree root lifting the road surface, and have completed repairs on the affected road surface.

Project background

Chute Street is a busy main road in Diamond Creek and carries approximately 21,500 vehicles per day. Drivers and pedestrians regularly use Chute Street to access shops, homes, businesses and schools in the area. located along the road.

Concerns about the current speed limit along Chute Street and the safety of pedestrians were raised following an incident involving a pedestrian who was injured by a car running a red light.

We want to protect pedestrians, shoppers and local residents in Diamond Creek while also ensuring Chute Street continues to operate in the best way possible for those travelling through the area.